


Coming out of the closet

by Bee1002



Category: Bandom, My Chemical Romance
Genre: An attempt at humor anyway, Domestic, Domestic Fluff, Established Relationship, Fluff and Humor, Humor, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-07-03
Updated: 2014-07-03
Packaged: 2018-02-07 05:55:42
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,780
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1887441
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Bee1002/pseuds/Bee1002
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Frank tries his hand at DIY while Gerard isn't home but it doesn't quite go as planned</p><p>(or, the one where Frank gets stuck in a DIY storage closet)</p>
            </blockquote>





	Coming out of the closet

**Author's Note:**

> This was inspired by me getting stuck like poor Frank while I tried setting up a DIY storage closet wardrobe thingy that looks something like [this](https://docs.google.com/file/d/0ByBSgFBPP5gqeGFJWVpaODB3R0U/edit?pli=1).

It was all Gerard’s fault really.

The idea of getting an apartment in an “up-coming neighbourhood” was his to begin with. It would save them tons of money in rent in some upscale apartment block (“… and really Frank, have you seen the people that live there? Talk about conforming to the norms of society”. Frank knew better than to argue with Gerard when he started referencing the norms of society). They don’t need to pay half their combined income in rent, he said. They don’t need more than the space the two bedroom flat, he said. Frank could understand that – he really could. What Frank couldn't deal with was having to squeeze all his clothes with Gerard’s in the sorry little excuse of a closet (or was it a wardrobe? Too fucking small for Narnia to be on the other side anyway) that was built into the master bedroom.

Now, Frank wasn't particularly fashionable by anyone’s standards, but he liked his clothes all neatly packed and clean; snuggly hoodies in one stack and band shirts in another. Gerard however, as much as Frank loved him, could not care less. The week before, it had taken him half an hour to find his favourite Ramones shirt, which coincidentally he did not find in the closet (it looked more like the end of a hotel laundry chute at this point, really) but rather bespeckled with red paint and stretched across Gerard’s shoulders.  

It was after dinner when Frank found his salvation. He and Gerard had taken their regular spots in front of the television in a futile attempt to catch up on Game of Thrones. Once Gerard had fallen asleep at the same place in the episode that he did the night before (and in the same position: arm sprawled loosely across Frank’s chest and his body only help up by his forehead resting softly against Frank’s shoulder), he decided that channel hopping would be better than watching the episode any further and have Gerard throw a cushion at him next time he accidently blurted out a spoiler.

He almost flicked past the infomercial – it was one of those ads hosted by a middle aged semi-famous woman with a large mass of red hair. The ad was for a closet. A huge DIY storage closet. The solution to all of his paint-on-band-tee problems. It was fucking perfect, Frank thought as he perked up and paid more attention. And the best part was that it came in a box and could be assembled without touching a hammer, nail or a hot glue gun (although he has promised Gerard, his mother and himself that he wouldn't touch a hot glue gun with a ten foot pole after the bathroom mirror incident of ‘09). A bunch of poles and connectors meant he could do it himself, without Gerard even asking 20 questions about why they needed another closet.

The plan was simple: After Gerard had left on his errands for the afternoon, Frank took a walk down to the Chinese supermarket two blocks away (another perk of the “up-coming neighbourhood”, he noted) to buy the closet he saw on late night TV two nights prior. Luckily, he did his research before setting off to get one – there was no way would he be paying $50 for the something from Wal-Mart he could get from Mr Li around the corner for half the price. He was all about supporting small business owners anyway.

The box was large but turned out to be light, which Frank took as good sign, considering only had an hour to carry it home and assemble it before Gerard got back. After climbing a considerable number of stairs, Frank-sized box in hand, he reached the apartment only slightly out of breath and spread out in front of the couch to start putting the closet together. He neatly arranged piles of poles with the same length and connectors with the same number of fittings. Just as he reached for the instructions he mumbled a loud “Fuck”. They were, of course, all in Chinese (thanks for nothing Mr Li).

After feeling sorry for himself for only 5 seconds, he decided that he wouldn't let a language barrier ruin more of his favourite clothes. After making sense of the few diagrams provided, he started plugging pieces together. It felt like being in kindergarten when the teacher would test your dexterity by how well you could build structures with Lego blocks. Frank made a mental note that that whole education system was bullshit, because he would definitely not impress a kindergarten teacher with his building talents, and he turned out just fine.  After about half an hour of testing out different connectors, replacing poles and forgetting to slide in the shelving sheets, he finally started to get the hang of it. Even though he realised more than once that some parts had to be re-assembled because he used Pole 2 instead of Pole 3 for the width of the shelving while wiping a trickle of sweat off his temple (was this thing really making him sweat?), he had arranged the structure to look just like the one in the picture, with 10 minutes to spare before Gerard would get home.

All that was left now was to throw the cover over the frame of the closet. It had sections that could be zipped up, rolled and stuck with Velcro that made up the doors. Frank thought that was pretty neat. At this point, it is important to note that Frank is not a tall human being. He had accepted his long ago. As a result of his height, however, the frame of the closet towered over him. Initially, it made him proud that he had assembled the large structure on his own, but it was starting to pose a problem. The cover needed to be put over each of the top four corners simultaneously, or it would slide on crooked or tear.

Frank tried putting on the left side first, but the right side rode up too high for him to reach.  Frank tried putting on the right side first, but the left side rode up too high for him to reach.  The same thing happened when he tried the front and the back. With only 5 minutes before Gerard was scheduled to be home, Frank did what seemed most logical at the time. He stood inside what would be the hanging section, one leg on each side of the base sheet that made up the floor of the closet. He quickly aligned the cover so that the zippers would be at the correct places and slipped all four corners over the frame at the same time by pulling it from the inside. He had to stand on the tips of his toes to get it over initially and felt his shirt ride up as he grabbed onto the sections furthest from him, but he was pleased.

He was so pleased that he had thought of this brilliant strategy just when he needed to, that he kept pulling the cover down until it was almost at his ankles. It was at this point that he realised that shit, he was stuck. The zippers were on the outside and he couldn't stand on the base or it would definitely tear. Just as he sighed and readied himself to attempt to pull the entire cover off and try again, he heard the front door click open.

“Hey Frank, I’m h–”

“Gerard,” Frank shouted out from inside the closet, not sure if he should laugh or cry, “Before you do anything, put your phone away and remember I have pictures of you crying during Gwen Stacy’s funeral scene in the new Spiderman. Spiderman, Gerard!”

“Wha–”, Gerard half screamed back after Frank heard the rustling of grocery bags being set down on the kitchen counter. It was silent for a moment then. Frank stood as he had been for the last few minutes, his legs becoming tired from standing in an uncomfortable position for too long.

“Hey Gee, where’d you go? I kinda need some help over here. If it’s not entirely obvious to you, it’s not every day you come home to me standing inside a half-constructed DIY storage closet”.

And that’s when Frank saw the flash through the cheap fabric of the cover and heard the giggle that had grown fond of over the years.

“Okay, you’ve had your fun. Now please let me out. And I sincerely hope you intend on keeping those pictures to yourself.”

“I’m sorry babe,” Gerard huffed between laughs, “I already sent it to Mikey, your mom and Mr Li from the supermarket.” Gerard let out another fit of laughter before reaching down to zip Frank out. ”Y’know, I don’t think the whole ‘being in the closet’ thing is meant to be taken so literally. Especially if you have a boyfriend. Who are you trying to kid Frankie?”  

“Oh, I’m gonna get you back for that!” Frank launched himself at Gerard the moment the zipper was high enough for him to jump out of his confinement. They both landed on the couch, Frank trying to concurrently grab at Gerard’s sides and stretch his legs to relieve the stiffness that had formed in his lower back.  

After laughing for what seemed like an hour, Frank found himself slumped over Gerard’s thighs while Gerard rubbed circles into his back where the earlier stiffness had eventually become a dull ache.

“What were you doing with a stupid DIY closet anyway?” Gerard asked before Frank fell asleep on his lap. “If this is some kind of redemption for the bathroom mirror incident of ’09 then…”

Frank shuffled and sat so that his knees creaked the springs of their worn old couch and his chin rested on Gerard’s shoulder.

“You know I don’t need space from you,” Frank wrapped his arms around Gerard’s mid-section and continued tentatively, “it’s just y’know, I think my clothes do”.

Gerard giggled at Frank’s admission, but tried to contain himself when he saw a pout starting to form on Frank’s mouth.

“Hey hey,” Gerard said as he soothed Frank by smoothing his hair down, “that’s okay. Why didn't you just say so? I could've helped you and maybe you wouldn't have gotten stuck in a cheaply produced storage closet in process.”

“Really?” Frank blinked, feigning childlike innocence.

“Sure.”

Gerard pulled Frank closer and Frank tucked himself into Gerard’s chest for what was to become a very well deserved nap. Yes, Frank would ask Gerard for help next time he needed help doing anything that involves building. It was his fault after all.

~FIN~

**Author's Note:**

> I generally don't write fics (although I read quite a lot) so some comments would be helpful for me to know if I'm completely deluding myself into thinking I can write or if this is half-decent and if I should write more. Thank you in advance!


End file.
